Fire Up the Season!

How Canadian Grocers can make the most of BBQ season

By Martha Beach-Yeo

BBQ season is one of the most significant and reliable revenue opportunities on the Canadian grocery calendar. Just look at the numbers. Seventy-two per cent of Canadians have a barbecue at home or have regular access to one. A Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab survey of more than 9,000 Canadians found that 42% barbecue multiple times a week during summer months, and that kind of habitual, recurring behaviour is what generates sustained consumer traffic throughout the season. Hamburgers and hot dogs top the list of favourite BBQ foods for 37% of Canadians, followed by beef steaks at 29% and chicken products at 17%, making the meat counter the undisputed centrepiece of summer grilling selections. Sauces, rubs and marinades, sides, and even charcoal and accessories are also all important categories that contribute to the season’s sales.

The 2026 season arrives with an increasingly complex consumer backdrop, continuing challenges that grocers have experienced in recent years. Understanding the complexities, including both the challenges and opportunities, are key to effective and profitable merchandising.

Canada’s Food Price Report 2026, produced by Dalhousie University and partner institutions, forecasts overall food prices will continue to rise 4% to 6% this year, with the average family of four expected to spend $17,571 on food, an increase of nearly $995 from last year. Food prices are now 27% higher than they were five years ago, and meat products- central to grilling season- are driving much of that pressure. Beef prices have seen the most significant rise, at 16% over the past year, currently sitting at 35% above the five-year average, with the cattle herd at its lowest level in Canada since the 1980s. Experts also say prices will continue rising in 2026, though not at the same pace as in recent years. The squeeze on beef has pushed more consumers toward chicken, which saw its own price increases of 6.7% in the final quarter of 2025. For grocers, this protein pivot is both a challenge and an opportunity- shoppers are not abandoning the grill, they are rethinking what goes on it.

Mike Moorhouse, Brand Manager for Grimm’s Fine Foods, sees this shift playing out directly in the category. “Beef is no longer automatically the default for many households,” he says. “As prices have risen, some families are reserving beef more for special occasions and leaning toward more affordable but equally versatile options like chicken thighs, pork shoulder, sausages, and whole birds.” Even with rising prices protein is the dominant trend in food right now, and the grill is one of its most natural expressions, says Moorhouse. “A smoked sausage or a bratwurst off the grill is not a manufactured wellness product. It is real food cooked over fire. Shoppers don’t need convincing. The occasion already delivers what they want.”

Of the three main proteins at the centre of the Canadian BBQ plate, pork may represent the most interesting opportunity for grocers in 2026. Since 2022, pork prices at grocery stores have risen by just over 13%, modest compared to chicken’s almost 22% rise and beef’s 38% climb, according to Farm Credit Canada’s 2026 Hog Outlook. FCC Senior Economist Justin Shepherd noted that by the end of 2025, consumers were increasingly choosing pork over other proteins on a dollar-per-kilogram basis. For retailers, Moorhouse is direct: “Giving sausages, pork, and chicken the floor positioning and visibility that premium beef used to occupy is no longer optional. The shopper migration is already happening. Products priced right and placed prominently are well positioned to capture that spending.”

Another shift that is defining this BBQ season is the move toward more casual, spontaneous entertainment. Kelly Fleming, VP, Marketing & Strategy Canada at Kraft Heinz Canada also sees the home entertaining trend as an important one.

“Canadians are feeling the pinch of higher prices, and that’s affecting summer behaviours,” she says. “We’re expecting to see more staycations and at-home entertaining- occasions when shoppers want to celebrate, and are willing to pay more for products that enhance the specialness of their meal, such as a new sauce or a premium protein.”

Instead of large, planned gatherings, people are hosting smaller, spontaneous get-togethers, which often means they are buying closer to the occasion and in smaller quantities,” says Moorhouse. “Smaller portions, more frequent eating, and less commitment to a single sit-down meal” is also reshaping what goes into the basket he says.

Grimm’s has responded to this directly with its Grimm’s Poppers launch — a bite-sized jalépeño-and-cheddar meat appetizer built around Bavarian smokies. “We took a recipe people already know and love, the jalapeño popper, and reimagined it as a high-protein appetizer,” says Moorhouse. “New to the refrigerated meat case and built for exactly that moment- the window where guests are arriving and food is being prepared. The consumer response confirmed the appetite is there.” This season also marks Grimm’s 75th anniversary, celebrated with two limited-time products rooted in the company’s German sausage-making roots- a Beer Bratwurst made with actual gluten-free beer, and a Beer Stick, a German-style pepperoni built for the grill. “Nostalgia is one of the strongest emotional drivers in this category,” says Moorhouse. “These products bring our tradition to a new generation of grilling occasions.”

Condiments, accessories, and sides are where BBQ season increasingly gets won or lost in grocery stores. Fleming describes a clear push in the condiment and sauce category toward bold, globally inspired profiles. “Canadians are looking for exciting flavour profiles that elevate at-home meals,” she says. “We’re seeing a rise in bold, smoky flavours.”

To meet this demand, Kraft Heinz Canada is launching two new BULL’S EYE varieties – Buffalo BBQ Sauce and Applewood Smoked BBQ Sauce- alongside two new DIANA’S Sauces, Ginger & Soy BBQ Sauce and Carolina-Style Mustard BBQ Sauce. In the condiment aisle, the flavoured mayo segment is one of the fastest-growing opportunities according to Fleming. “They provide an easy, versatile base for on-trend flavours,” she says. Kraft Heinz Canada recently expanded the HEINZ Flavoured Mayo lineup and is now adding three new varieties, Piri Piri, Smoky Mustard, and Chimichurri, along with a new HEINZ Burger Sauce, all supported under the “If it’s a Burger, it has to be HEINZ” display program.

With grilling proteins leading the seasonal lift in sales, condiments, buns, and prepared side tend to move with them as shoppers build out a full meal, says Moorhouse. “The less obvious lift comes from snackable proteins and easy appetizer formats. As eating patterns shift toward smaller portions and more frequent occasions, the grilling occasion has expanded. Products that work before the main meal, shareable and quick to serve, are increasingly part of the same basket as the primary protein.”

When it comes to merchandising, Fleming is serious about timing. “It’s vital to leverage displays early in the season,” she says. “Canada’s selling window is short, and the May long weekend is the highest-purchase week for Summer BBQ.” With 40 per cent of Canadians spending that long weekend with friends and family, she recommends deploying prominent displays before the window opens, anchored by core staples HEINZ Ketchup, Mustard and Mayo, BULL’S EYE BBQ sauce, and KRAFT salad dressings.

Moorhouse pushes back on the tendency to treat the season as a single sprint. “There is a tendency to push hard for a promotional window and then move on,” he says. “The occasion runs from the first warm weekend through to fall for a lot of Canadian households. Stay visible. Rotate the product story. Keep something fresh in the set through August. The shoppers who grilled in May are still grilling in September.”

He also flags a less obvious merchandising principle- grilling purchases are impulsive and weather-driven, which means more than one touchpoint in the store pays off. “One well-placed fixture is easy to walk past,” he says. “Two reminders in the same trip are harder to ignore.” Fleming adds, “retailers who can convert this curiosity into purchase through in-store and online storytelling are going to win. We need to excite them with prepared sauces, inspire them with fun recipes, or show them how they can elevate their traditional BBQ recipes.

The opportunity this season is straightforward, even if executing it well is not. “Retailers that make planning and hosting effortless will capture both trips and spend,” says Fleming. Moorhouse puts it plainly- “Treat grilling as a season, not a campaign.” Retailers who do both will be well positioned to own the backyard this summer.